Koh Lanta 3/12/13 - 3/13/13

We wanted Kristin's family to get a feel for "backpacker life" by keeping them on the move so that they could see a few different places in Thailand.  Travel days can be long and the unpacking/packing is not the most fun; however, we wanted to maximize their experiences in a short time.  So we boarded the 2 hour ferry to Koh Lanta and then had an exchange to another ferry, for the last hour, at the Phi Phi Don pier where we gathered up all our baggage and transferred everything onto a new boat.  Everyone passed the backpacker test with flying colors and maneuvered on and off the boats with their bags in a quick fashion.

Five people's luggage ;-)

Ferry to Koh Lanta

Dad and Mom on the ferry

Views around Phi Phi island

Enjoying the ride

That afternoon/evening we arrived to the hotel, dropped our things off in our rooms, changed, and hopped in our hotel transport to the beach for sunset.  Our hotel took a truck to one of the beaches each night at 6pm so that guests could enjoy the sunsets and then transferred us back at 7pm.  All for free.  This was a new concept to Matt and Kristin.  Customer service at its best.

Watching the sunset....again

Once we returned from the beach, we decided to head straight to dinner at a place around the corner from the hotel.  Kristin's brother, Brian, was supposed to be landing in Krabi that afternoon and taking a van over to Koh Lanta, but we thought he was running late because of some transportation issues.  After arriving at the aiport he had his own fun and "backpacker adventure" in trying to find the transportation Dad had arranged for him, but wasn't there.    It was a good thing Dad checked his phone while we sat around the table awaiting our dinner, because he saw a message that Brian had resolved the issue and was already in the hotel room waiting on us.  Excitedly, the "kids" (Kristin, Matt, and Karen) took off to go get him and bring him to dinner.  Another happy welcoming party!

Brian arrived!

Look who made it to Thailand

Our next day was a FULL day at Long beach, 10:30 A.M. until sunset.  Again, the hotel truck drove us the 5-7 kms to the beach and picked us up at the time we asked them to for free.  We all had plenty of time to lay out, swim, talk, frisbee, and read.  Kristin, Karen, Mom, and Brian decided that afternoon to get themselves massages by the beach. They were wonderful! $10 for an hour long oil massage with the sound of the waves crashing in the background, what could be better! 

Long beach on Koh Lanta

Day at the beach

Lunch spot

Four of us enjoying beach massages

Afterwards Kristin and Dad went back to the hotel to arrange our next day of travel, via ferry, to Krabi. While they were gone, the rest of the gang had some drinks and picked out a spot for yet another sunset.

Karen and her beach cocktail

Johnny Football

Sunset with drinks

To cap things off for the day we went to a nice dinner with lots of fresh seafood for everyone, and then walked around the market.  Plenty of souvenirs to buy for everyone, but surprisingly the only item bought was sunglasses for Brian because he forgot his.  Maybe Matt and Kristin's scare tactic of insisting on traveling "light" worked ;-).  And it would not be right to end a night without banana pancakes, so we had some more.  

Shopping at the night market

That night we hung out in our "family room" and talked more over some beers and played cards.  We couldn't stay up too late though because we had an early morning the next day to get the ferry over to Krabi.

Brian, Mom, and Matt